Ms. Alberta's Memories and Recipes: From Ann

My youngest sister was Sharon Gail Thomas; she was born September 19, 1951. That is a day I remember very well.

Ms Alberta had taken us three older children down to the company store. Ms Alberta usually held Jean’s hand and Danny’s hand and, since I was the oldest, I held onto her skirt tail. That way she knew she had all of her children safe and she knew where we were.

That day Jean was tired and Ms Alberta had picked her up to carry her; Dan and I held onto her skirt tail. Somehow, Ms Alberta tripped and stumbled; she twisted her body to protect Jean and fell belly bust across the metal railroad track.

When she stood up she was pale and water started running down her legs. Neighbors had seen when she fell and came rushing to help.

Ms Alberta was taken to Harlan Hospital in Harlan, Harlan County, Kentucky where she underwent an emergency c section.

I remember thinking how beautiful Sharon Gail was; so tiny, but so perfect in every way. Sharon Gail seemed to grow and thrive at a rapid rate.

By the first week of December I was allowed to sit and hold my beautiful baby sister while Ms Alberta was fixing breakfast. This was the time I was allowed to feed Sharon, while Ms Alberta was fixing breakfast. I would sit in my little rocking chair, with a pillow under my arm to help support her head while she took a bottle.

My father, Harold, was a coal miner. Every morning we would all get up when he did so we could eat breakfast when he did. The morning of December 7^th, Sharon didn't wake up when we did. When I asked Ms Alberta why she was still asleep; I was told it was because she had been up later the night before and was just sleeping in. Sharon Gail had laughed out loud for the first time. The soft, musical sound still rings in my memory.

My Dad had all ready gone to work; Ms Alberta was cleaning up the kitchen while Danny and Jean sat in their high chairs finishing up breakfasts. I was sitting in my rocking chair waiting for Sharon Gail to wake up.

The houses we were required to rent from the coal mine owners didn't have screens on the windows and they didn't have screen doors. Ms Alberta had opened the kitchen door to allow heat from the cooking stove out.

A cat came in the open back door; it wrapped itself around first Jean’s high chair legs and then Danny’s high chair legs. When it had done that it turned, looked at me and went to the closed door of the bedroom where Sharon Gail was.

I remember calling out to Ms Alberta and asking again about Sharon Gail and that was when Ms Alberta noticed the cat at the bedroom door.

Ms Alberta ran to the bedroom door and I followed her in. Sharon Gail was lying in the middle of the bed, her face was blue and she wasn't breathing.

Ms Alberta grabbed Sharon Gail up, shook her, and then started screaming and running. I followed her as far as the open back door; but I stayed with my younger brother and sister.

Not much later a neighbor came to get us three children; to take us to where Ms Alberta sat in a chair looking off into the distance. She was waiting for my father to be told and for him to come be with her.

Sharon Gail had been placed on a bed in the neighbor’s bedroom, covered up with a white chenille bedspread, which had pink rose buds and roses around the outside edges and through the middle. I know what the bedspread looked like because I snuck in to see my baby sister.

I had pulled the spread back so I could see her. The neighbor caught me looking at her and told me I was probably too young to know what death was, but Sharon Gail had died and there was nothing that anyone could do about it.

But I did understand what death meant, because just the week before I had found a dead bird and Dad had explained it had died and that we would bury it. I knew that my baby sister would have to be buried and it made me very sad.